Catherine Blish, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine and an Assistant Director of the Stanford Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). After receiving a BS in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis, she matriculated in the MSTP at the University of Washington School of Medicine, receiving her MD and a PhD in Immunology. After residency in Internal Medicine she pursued a fellowship in Infectious Disease at the University of Washington, with a research focus on immune correlates of HIV-1 infection. Her current research aims to understand the successes and failures of the immune system in order to better harness it to prevent infections. Her young lab is perhaps best known for redefining our understanding of the diversity of human natural killer (NK) cells, a critical first line of defense against viruses and tumors. She has received numerous awards for research and mentoring, including the Stanford Immunology Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award, the ICAAC Young Investigator Award from the American Society for Microbiology, the Beckman Young Investigator Award, the McCormick Faculty Award, the Baxter Faculty Scholar, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Clinical Scientist Development Award, the Tashia and John Morgridge Faculty Scholar in Pediatric Translational Medicine, and a NIH Director’s New Innovator Award.